You may have seen a white cottony substance, similar in appearance to dandelion fluff, on your lawn at one point or another. We have seen it on many lawns ourselves. It is a very damaging fungus known as Pythium Blight that thrives during consistently humid/warm conditions. If you have it, the best thing to do is to leave it alone, as it should go away on its own. Please be aware that watering may encourage this disease and mowing could spread it. We recommend refraining from these activities until nighttime temperatures drop back down into the 50-60 degree range. Please contact us with any further questions!
For your information:
Water early in the day especially on warm humid days to give leaves and grass a chance to dry out during the day. Avoid watering in the late afternoon and evening.
Fungus diseases are one of the most difficult lawn pests to tame. Some are relatively harmless, others can destroy an entire lawn in a very short time.
Keep in mind that these diseases can travel by foot, water and air.
Fungus spores can be spread on the wheels of lawn mowers, on the shoes of children, on water droplets from rain or watering, or blow like microscopic seeds across your lawn.
Prevention is the best cure.
You can reduce the chance of disease taking over your lawn by keeping it healthy and growing with proper feeding, mowing, watering, and thatch control measures.
Some grass types are less susceptible to fungus attacks. Consider planting disease-resistant varieties when you seed.
The goal of treatment is controlling the spread of disease. By keeping the disease in check, you give your grass enough time to recover or for the weather to change. Most of the common diseases like snow mold, rust, and dollar spot are weather-related.
If you need help seeding your lawn or diagnosing and treating problem areas, give our friendly staff at Green Thumb a call!